Stoby Fends Off Farley For Ceres Juices 10K Series Crown

Reuben Stoby, right and Maria Mays, emerged as the overall
champs after Saturday's final race. PHOTO: Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

After coming within three seconds of Renold Brown's 13-year
old Virgin Gorda College Classic Series record in his last outing, Reuben Stoby
wanted to take down the mark on Saturday morning, but thought long and hard
about his afternoon battle with Julius Farley for the Ceres Juices 10K Series
overall crown.

With both of them tied on points and the winner earning the
crown, Stoby decided not to go to Virgin Gorda.

"The series was up for grabs and as much as a record has a
nice ring to it, I've come so close and I'm confident I could break it, but I didn't
want to take any chances because this race was very important," Stoby stated,
after running 38 minutes and 55 seconds to Farley's 39:20. "I came specifically
to win today and not to run fast. I actually ended up working harder than I expected
to. I had some stitches and Julius always run a consistent pace, but I'm happy that
I was able to find something in the end
just to pull through."

Farley said he knew he had to set his own pace and knew it
would be a good race with Stoby, who wouldn't give up.

"I tried to hold him off as much as I could but I had
stitches from the start and throughout the race," Farley said. "Not taking anything
away from him, he ran a good race. I tried my best but in the end, he got the
better of me. I couldn't ease up."

Maria Mays, third overall in 44:22 was the top woman, won
three of the five races. "I'm really happy but was a little worried that I might
not get it (overall title) but I did it and it was brilliant," she said. "I
couldn't keep up with Julius and Reuben today, but, it was a really nice race."

Race Director Kay Reddy said the series was one of the best.
"This is an absolutely superb 10K," Reddy said. "The runners come out and Ceres
is one of our best sponsors. Not only do they come out with lots of produce and
lots of prizes, but the sponsors themselves come out for every race, they get
involved at the water stops, they make sure everybody is happy and we get to
taste new products. All in all, it's a great event."